


The Widow

by Healbitesand_Heathers



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Multi, Other, Read More In "Before Our Story Begins", Slow Burn, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-01-22 22:38:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18536887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Healbitesand_Heathers/pseuds/Healbitesand_Heathers
Summary: A story about a farmer with a painful past who moves into a valley with an aging town. With the emotionally stunted town and the dying economy, this farmer has quite the shoes to fill from her deceased grandfather. With a little help from new friends, she begins her life anew.





	1. Darkness to Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, This is a story about a farmer.
> 
> Specifically a farmer who falls in love with a town and herself. She goes through some things.
> 
> This story has a few qualities I want to discuss before reading.
> 
> 1) This is a slow-burn romance. Like a wet match trying to light a fire slow-burn.
> 
> 2) This story is probably gonna be very long. Despite the focus being on the farmer, we will also delve into the lives a bit of all the characters in Stardew Valley. Yes, all of them.
> 
> 3) Despite being rated mature, I might have some more...explicit chapters. They will be marked with an asterisk (*)
> 
> 4) Other things this story will touch on include many issues in rural towns, such as alcoholism, depression, toxic relationships, sexuality, poverty, and even death. Chapters will be tagged as properly as they can be. However, these themes will not be the focus.
> 
> 5) All characters will have an ending. No one important will die. Some may come close, but no death. Some are happy, some are less happy.
> 
> 6) All the marriage folks have an endgame. Maybe not with each other, but an endgame.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story.
> 
> ***Hey everyone reading this! I'm sorry I have been away from this story for so long, I haven't forgotten about it! I'm a full time employee AND I'm in grad school, plus personal hobbies to force a social life upon me, so I am VERY VERY busy. I'm gonna try adding a chapter every 1-2 weeks now. The original goal was to finish this story end of summer 2019, but that's looking not so likely, so I'll try to finish end of this year. If you wanna keep up with the story, I THINK you can follow authors as their works update, so keep an eye out for me!***  
> -June 16, 2019-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the First Day of Spring

Chapter 1: Darkness to Darkness

In the darkness of a room a blaring alarm is heard: It’s 6 o’ clock in the morning. The single bed shuffles and a large hand reaches out from underneath heavy covers, grumbling and fumbling until it hits the button to shut off. A moment of silence until the figure sits up in bed, puts on his glasses and turns on the light in his small studio apartment. Foggy as ever before the first cup of coffee, he realizes today is the first day of spring. A new year is here. And there is a ton of paperwork to do for his patients. A quick shower, a piece of toast, and a brief moment to decide on what to wear from the already few choices he has made for himself, he throws on his green coat and heads out the door.

Luckily for this doctor, a walk to work is only a walk downstairs. When he moved to this town roughly seven years ago, as an eager 28 year old ready to take on residency in a small quaint town, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world that he could live on cheap rent and not worry too much about property taxes: They were incredibly low in Pelican Town. If you asked him today how lucky he felt about life, perhaps not so much.

“Morning, Harvey!” A stout young woman in pale pink scrubs was sterilizing the exam room. Her hair today was combed back into a tight, low pony rather than the cornrows she had been wearing for the past couple months. Her glasses were in her pocket instead of on her face because they tended to get in the way of her bending down to clean, but she was squinting the entire time.

“Morning, Maru.” Said Harvey. He went to the front desk to look on the computer the weekly appointments. “Happy new year. How’s your dad?”

“He’s good!” Maru shouted, still inside the exam room in the back. “He’s pushing for a grant from Zuzu University to start studying soil and fungi specimens here in the valley. He thinks it’ll bring money into town”.

“That’s…interesting.” Harvey feigned interest. Demetrius was a smart guy, but Harvey doubted anyone would want to put money into such a small town. The main downtown population of Pelican Town was in the few dozens, not even enough for a school district. This place is falling apart. The only thing that kept them afloat was the local fishing, a few festivals during the year, and the gluttonous governor who insisted on freeloading at their summer luau. Harvey shuddered at the thought of that man. He’s there for show. If he really cared, he’d invest in some infrastructure. Harvey was nearly certain some water pipes still were made of lead.

Maru sat in the front desk chair, leaned back and crossed her arms with a smirk on her face. “You can’t fool me after working here 3 years. You don’t have to pretend to be enthusiastic”. In spite being significantly shorter and younger, she had the upper hand in social situations. Harvey shrugged his shoulders as the bell to the front door jingled to signal there were patients. It was the town’s elders, George and Evelyn.

“Morning sir! Morning ma’am!” Maru greeted, “How can we help you? Evelyn, isn’t your appointment tomorrow?”

“Yes dear” The old woman said “It’s just that George here has been coughing oddly today, and we were worried it might be urgent at our age”

“I can tell them myself, Evelyn!” the old man growled in his wheelchair. “It’s not that big of a deal, it started yesterday”.

“Well, how about I do a quick checkup?” Harvey offered, “No worries, since Evelyn is coming in for her seasonal exam this will be free of charge”.

The older couple looked at each other and nodded, and Maru led them to the back with some paperwork. Harvey caught a glimpse of red hair out the clinic window. The redhead, Demetrius’s wife and town carpenter, and also Maru’s mother Robin, was on pace with the mayor of Pelican Town, Lewis. Both were in nicer clothes today.

 _“Where are they headed? They were headed in the general direction of the bus stop, but the bus has been rundown for a long time. Are they headed into Zuzu City for investment reasons? Are we building something?”_ Harvey snapped out of his thinking process, blinked, and went to the exam room.

***  
The rest of the day was quiet, it usually is for the first day of spring. Cleaning, paperwork, mind-numbing waiting, all until 3 o’ clock for the afternoon. Maru clocked out and said her goodbyes. Harvey went for a walk. He gained roughly 15 pounds over the winter and decided he needed to take better care for himself. He knows some people in town do Pilates together, maybe he would look into it…

Pelican Town in the Stardew Valley district is small, and by small, it’s REALLY small. Nearly all buildings in town were within eyesight of each other, connected by cobblestone. There were exceptions, like a couple of the southern beach cabins and Marnie’s ranch through the western woods, along with that weird, stone tower on the hill. There are lights, but no one goes in or out. Robin and Demetrius, along with their older children Maru and Sebastian, live in a cabin on top of the northern mountain, near the shut-down mines. Harvey hopes when the younger kids in town are bigger, they don’t garner interest in the dangerous mines.

And, of course, Joja. The multi-faceted company that has its fingers in entertainment, general goods, furniture, and…other things? Harvey didn’t know, a quick internet search proved they were almost everywhere though. The large, sterile, light-blue building stuck out like a sore thumb across the eastern river against the other buildings of aging stone and wood. They came in and built their position roughly three years after Harvey moved in. As sheepish as he was to admit it, he was a bachelor who didn’t have much knowledge or time to cook, and a chunk of his change went to their instant meals.  
***  
6 o’ Clock in the evening. The yellowed microwave in Harvey’s kitchen whirred with an insta-meal as Harvey undressed from his doctor clothes to hop into some checkered pajamas. He always had an interest in older fashions, hence why he preferred his green overcoat in comparison to the modern white coat when in the exam rooms. He grimaced in the mirror. He was only in his mid-thirties, but he felt much older in the dim mirror. He was a tall, broad man that dispersed his weight well, but the dark hair on his chest, thighs, forearms, and other places he could barely look at were a bit of an embarrassment of his, especially his growing gut from the winter. Now he was definitely going to check out those Pilates classes.

He sat down at his small table to eat, looked down at the meal, took one bite, and decided he wasn’t hungry for the night. He eyed his desk by the window. Rural towns have a secret no one tells visitors when they come into town. Sure, things look pastoral and idyllic on the surface, but deep down, many citizens of Stardew Valley are hurting, including Harvey himself. Some were alcoholics, some traumatized by families separating and death, and others, like Harvey, were just isolated: caught up in the whirlwind of day-to-day surviving that once slowed down overwhelms one with loneliness.

Luckily for him, to make up for the whirlwind was his hobby: model airplanes. Thankfully no one knew about this, it was his thing. He had been working on a bi-plane when he peered out his window into the ink-dark nothingness of night. There’s never any lights in this town unless looking up at the vast swarm of stars that swirl in the sky, at least Zuzu City didn’t have that privilege.

And then, peering out into the nothingness, the empty cabin 1 mile away, the one that had been abandoned for 20 years after the death of the old farmer, had a light.


	2. The First Five Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The farmer moves to town and has to come to terms with her new life, including someone dear to her being gone and possibly risking her financial status.

“So, this is it!” The older man with the grey mustache and newsboy cap proclaimed, extending his arms to gesture towards the property, if it could even be called one. The woman he was showing it off to had her eyes as big as dinner plates at how dilapidated, aged, and overgrown everything was. The bags underneath her eyes somehow became deeper and darker in the course of a split second.

“It’s small, but it can be upgraded by me, if you want to, of course!” The redheaded middle-aged woman said, trying to be reassuring at the glorified shack, “Just bring your own materials and I’ll do it for a really good discount!”. That only made the young woman’s face look even more dismayed. Lewis and Robin looked at each other. It was fantastic that the granddaughter of the old farmer decided to move in, but they weren’t expecting someone so…glum…in comparison to the now deceased jovial old man who ran Riverbrook farms. She was so quiet and dark by nature; she had an aura of tension so thick that it could be cut by an axe.

“Th…thanks.” She looked around. It was not quite as nostalgic as she remembered. The 50 acres of pasture and tilled fields were now covered in weak pines and scraggly oak. The beautiful greenhouse was crushed and caved in with fragments of metal framing and glass everywhere. The house itself looked like a one-room dangerzone that couldn’t hold up its own weight. Grandpa was always a fan of tiny houses and had other small cabins for each of the family members as they visited. Those were gone too. The ponds were scummy, and it was just…bad.  
“You said your name was Navy, right?” Lewis asked. Navy nodded.

Awkward silence.

“…Well, we left you some tools to start out with, when you’re ready please come into town and meet everyone. They’re excited someone is finally doing something with the old farm.” Robin said, “Good luck! Please call us if you need any help, okay?” Silence from Navy. Navy barely talked these days. Lewis and Robin looked at each other again and quietly took the path back to town.

***

It’s been five days since Navy moved in, and progress is being made… somewhat. Navy just wanted to remain to herself for the week. The trauma of recent events has left her quite numb to exhaustion, which has proven itself to be a tool for now. Navy managed to whack away roughly 20 acres of weeds and grass, and was also watching how her turnips were growing. Lewis the mayor was kind enough to have left some turnip seeds ‘from his own garden’, free of charge for her to get some crops going. Luckily, this came naturally to her. All those ‘wasted years’ of agricultural college were ironically paying off. She still wanted to axe down some trees to dry out the wood before putting it into storage, something she made a mental note of.

Her new cat strolled over to rub against Navy’s legs. Navy smirked, her new neighbor Marnie brought over the orange cat recently and Navy took her in. Navy had a knack for befriending animals, it was the only trait she liked about herself. It’s unusual for orange cats to be female, but this one was, and luckily spayed. No babies on this farm! “Oh Blossom,” Navy said with a melancholy sigh, “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I didn’t have you”. It was true, for the longest time in years, Navy was alone. At 27, it wasn’t unusual to start one’s life over, but Navy was forced to.

The dark thoughts were back. Navy stared into the distance as if she were anticipating dark storm clouds to come and ruin everything again.

Picking up Blossom, she walked back towards the farmhouse. “I think I’ll go into town tomorrow, Blossom” Navy said, “I don’t want to, but the isolation is getting to my head, and I know Roy would want me happy.” She stopped walking for a second. She hadn’t said that name for two months. Not since the accident. Not since the hospital. Not since the funeral. Not since the scandal. Not since the phone-call to Pelican town with a deed that was once in an envelope instructed by her grandfather on his deathbed to not open until life grew dark and weary to the point of being unbearable.

Roy’s gone. Things didn’t just feel unbearable, now with a crummy old plot of land, they felt hopeless. Navy dropped to her knees, dropping Blossom, and sobbed.


	3. A Blast from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Navy meets some people her age, including an old friend of hers who she lost contact with. Someone has a two heart event.
> 
> *Implied mention of suicide and depressive thoughts.

Chapter 3

It was Friday morning, and Navy rolled out of bed. Her muscles ached from all the new labor she was doing to remain somewhere in this world. Before showering, she checked the moisture levels of her turnips before deciding on an adequate amount of water, and then fed Blossom. After a shower and breakfast, she trudged into town by noon. Pausing for a brief moment past the bus stop, she took a moment to take in the scenery. Cobblestone streets, few cars, even in the driveway of the townhouses, and one small general store to pick up the weekly groceries and supplies.

_“This town hasn’t changed in 20 years”,_ thought Navy. She calculated her rations for the week and headed into the general store. It was about how she remembered it being, a few aisles of essential produce, some cooking necessities, and some dairy products. A middle-aged man with greying tawny hair waved from behind the counter.

“Hey there, you must be the new farmer Lewis told me about!” the man greeted, “My name’s Pierre, and this is my store! Open every day of the week, except Wednesdays and holidays!” He came out from behind the counter to extend his hand in a shake. “Your name, dear?”

Navy paused before reluctantly shaking the hand with firmness, as means of warning to the older man. “Name’s Navy.” He drew his hand back, a bit surprised by the gruff exterior and piercing eyes. Awkward silence.

“Let me go get my wife and daughter,” said Pierre, gesturing with his hands to hold still for a moment, “They would love to meet you! We rarely get visitors, much less new residents!” Navy rolled her eyes as he turned her back to her, she really wasn’t one to be outed by people. Through a back door, a green-haired older woman and a purple haired younger woman came through the door. “Caroline, Abigail, this is Navy! She’s the new farmer in town.”

“Pleased to meet you!” Caroline said, “Pierre is my husband, and we also grow a garden as part of our general store. If you need anything, don’t be hesitate to ask!”

“Man, I’m gonna miss exploring that old place if you’re clearing it out” said Abigail, “But I’m glad to see a younger face around here for once!” Caroline gave a tight smile as a warning and gripped Abigail shoulder.

“Abigail, you know that place is dangerous to go there by yourself as a woman” Caroline said

“As opposed to living there?” Navy quipped, raising an eyebrow. That caught Caroline off-guard, and Abigail pursed her lips, trying hard not to snicker. “I’ve been cleaning it up a bit. I hope to make it respectable in the least.”

After some conversation and a few groceries, Navy left the store to head in the general direction towards the farm, a backpack full of food in tow. The bell to the general store jingled as Navy started walking.

“Hey wait!” Abigail jogged up to Navy and caught her breath “Whew, you’re a fast walker! Anyway, I wanted to say thank for sticking up for me. It’s Naomi, right?”

“Navy, and no problem, it’s only the truth.” Navy said, not even looking at Abigail, just had her eyes towards the path.

“So listen, since you’re new in town, I figured you didn’t have many friends yet, I was wondering if you wanted to hang with my friends and I. On Friday nights we go to the bar in town, the Stardrop Saloon, and play arcade games and pool. It’s a lot of fun, and you’d help make us an even group of people!” Abigail gave a toothy smile, hoping to persuade the quiet farm lady.

Navy stopped to look at Abigail and smiled for the first time in months. “You know what, I’d like that.”

***

It was 6 o’ clock in the evening when Navy walked through the door of the saloon and looked around nervously. She hated being alone in new social situations, and this was out of her element completely. Sometimes she could become anonymous in a crowd, but when only a dozen people were there, new people were going to be in the limelight. A middle-aged portly man was at the cash register, and a quirky-looking, blue haired woman about Navy’s age was mixing something behind the counter. In the dim shadows were a few grisly looking men, obviously there to change the numbing routine of their usual nine-to-five life. In another corner was unmistakably Lewis and…Marnie? That’s a weird sight to see. A flash of red caught Navy’s eyes and she saw Robin, happily swing-dancing to jukebox music with a dark and handsome man. The love in the couple’s eyes stabbed Navy through the chest. She was about to walk out overwhelmed by emotion when a chubby pale arm waved through the dim lighting.

“Navy! Over here!” Abigail said over the music. All eyes were on Navy now, and they felt like lasers. Navy kept her eyes on the floor until she made her way over to the trio of young adults. One was Abigail, the other two were young men, one with blond, gelled up hair, and the other dark as night, pulled over his face. The two men were playing pool, and they looked like two characters you would see on a cartoon as best friends. “Welcome to our crew, this is Sam,” the blond guy waved, “And this is Sebastian” the dark haired one gave the peace sign, and nothing more.

“Nice to meet you guys,” Navy said, “So what do you guys do with your life? Jobs? College?”

“I’m taking online classes for a Bachelor’s in literature” said Abigail

“I’m getting my pharmacy tech degree as I work” said Sam

“Fuck college” said Sebastian. That made Navy laugh. “But in all seriousness, I did college, but it wasn’t my thing, so now I’m a freelancer who writes code for customers”.

“Hell yeah,” Navy said, giving a thumbs up. “You guys are all doing well, I see. Any hobbies?”

“Other than Fridays here, about twice a month we continue our session with Solarian Chronicles” Sam said, “You know what that is?”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to try!” said Navy, “Never got the chance, didn’t know anyone who played, so I stick to listening to podcasts about it”.

“Really? Like the McAllister bros?” Sebastian said, his interest now piqued. “Like as in ‘Mansions and Monsters Hour’?”

Navy outstretched her arms in excitement “Yeah! Exactly! Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to have some nerds in this town!” Some time passes by. Rounds of pool are shot, rounds of shot are drank. Giggles and grins all around. Navy peers over the pool table at the bar and squints her eyes to focus.

“Hey, who’s that?” Navy asked, pointing to a man hunched over a beer.

“Some dude named Shane,” Sebastian said, “He moved here, what, three months ago, I think?” Abigail and Sam nodded in agreement.

“No way…” Navy whispered to herself “Hang on a second, guys.” She walked towards the bar, trying to keep her breathing regular, “Shane McGill, is that you?” The man quickly turns his head away from his beer in Navy’s direction.

“Look, I don’t know you so…” Shane started, and then he lifted his head, eyes wider. “Navy Anderson, is that you? Wait, are you the new farmer?”

“Sure am!” The two embraced. “I haven’t seen you since high school! What happened?” Navy said into his neck.

“Life happened, I guess” Shane said, with a shrug, “I should have kept better contact, I’m sorry Navy.”

“That’s okay, I’m glad there’s a familiar face in town, we need to catch up. In fact, gimme a sec.” Navy left for a brief moment to talk to the trio of friends, they nodded and waved at Shane, who just gave them a glare. Navy returned. “Okay, I’m good. Wanna talk on the way back? It’s late.”

“Aren’t you married?” Shane asked cautiously, “I mean, that’s cool, but I heard-“

Navy put a finger up to his face as a warning. “I’m not.” She said with a low voice. “We need to talk.”

***  
With crickets and frogs chirping, the nature path in the dark wasn’t too unnerving. It was quite calming, actually. Navy felt at peace being alone in the woods anyway, just like the summer nights in the woods as a little girl.

“I can’t believe Marnie is your aunt, small world.” Navy said. Shane nodded and gestured toward the direction of the forest pond. It was so serene out on the dock with the full moon out. Plopped on the deck, Shane went to rummage near a tree. He brought out a cooler.

“Secret stash” Shane said, gesturing towards the cooler, “With Jas in the house, it’s better to drink out here.”

“You have a daughter?”

“Goddaughter,” Shane corrected, pointing towards his aunt’s ranch house. “Her parents were in an accident about two years ago, I met her dad, John, in college. Was the best man and everything.” He stared at his beer in silence for a bit, “What about you, Navy? I thought you were married.”

“Until two months ago. Accident.” Navy couldn’t look up from the words escaping her mouth. Seeing Shane’s face would make her burst into some ugly tears

“Oh man, Navy I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t you dare tell anyone!” Navy gave Shane a death stare. Her eyes had the dark, hollowed look of a person at war as they bored into Shane’s soul. “I’m not ready to talk about it. You knew, somehow. Grapevine I guess.”

“Oh you know, Imagebook.” Shane said. His voice was a bit softer this time. He stared at his drink a bit more. “This town sucks”.

Navy snorted. “No shit, Shane, no shit.”

More silence at the dock.

“Navy, what do you think about life?”  
“It’s also shit.” Navy said and chugged the beer in less than ten seconds before crushing the can with her fist.

Shane raised his eyebrows. “Damn, I’m impressed. Also, dark.” He stared at his beer again. “Do you ever just feel like, no matter how hard you try, you’ll always fail?” Navy raised an eyebrow and nodded. “It’s just…it feels like no matter how hard I push, I keep getting deeper and deeper into the abyss, to the point I can’t even see the light of day.”

“Shane, it’s me. Did you forget about high school?”

“Oh yeah. The hospital didn’t help, huh?”

“They told me ten years ago I’ll be happier in ten years, and I’ll be glad I didn’t make that mistake. Well here I am, ten years later, wishing I did successfully end myself.”

Shane sat quietly for a moment, carefully crafting the right words in his mind. “I can’t say you’re wrong, because you’ll resent me in the moment. But what I can say is despite all the awful things that have happened, I’m glad you’re here now. It’s like this shitty town has this one nice dock on a lake, you know?”

“Thanks Shane.”

“Anytime Navy.” The two friends sat in silence.

Navy stood up, wobbling a bit with the inebriation and the deck being unstable “I think I should head back to sleep now, I’m just a bit north of here. Promise me that if you’re not feeling good to check up on me, okay? My phone number is still the same from high school.”

“You bet. Hey, Navy?” Shane asked. Navy turned around to wait on the second part of what he was about to say. “You made this shitty town a little less shitty today. Thanks.”


	4. Oops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The doctor and the farmer finally meet. Oops.

Chapter 4: Oops.

It’s been about a week and a half since the new year started, and the clinic was quiet. Harvey looked around, bored out of his mind for something to do. Every piece of equipment was sterilized, every hospital fabric was laundered, every report was filed. He sat in the front desk chair and groaned, rubbing his eyes and temples.

“You all right, Harvey?” Maru asked, peeping her head from the back. She was cleaning a window in the surgery recovery room.

“I know things are slow this time of year, we’re just caught up with everything and I’m absolutely bored out of my mind,” Harvey complained. “Even just one thing to do will make this day seem worth it.”

“Well, have you filed the new patient report?”

Harvey bolted straight up and looked at Maru with a blank expression. “The what?”

“The new farmer? The one who moved in last week?” Maru raised her eyebrow, a bit concerned at his obliviousness.

Harvey started scrambling for a new folder, slightly flustered. “Why did no one tell me there is a new resident in town?! How was I supposed to know?”

“I just thought you knew,” Maru said with a shrug. “Her name is Navy Anderson, lives at the Riverbrook Farms residence. Moved in roughly ten days ago. Quiet woman; came to see my mom about blueprints and a payment plan for a coop on the farm. That’s how I met her. Turned out my brother already befriended her, which is a bit surprising, seeing that Sebastian tends to keep to himself, you know?”

Harvey started to rapidly scribble in pen on a new patient file. “Uh huh, and what else? Do you know where she is right now? Should I introduce myself? Should I just send a promotion in the mail?”

“Slow down, Harvey!” Maru said, closing the folder in front of Harvey’s face. “She’s new and doesn’t know everyone yet. She probably has a lot of work to do, setting up that old run-down place, and just hasn’t even thought about establishing a resident annual check-up yet.”

Harvey sat back in the chair. “You’re right, Maru. It’s just been a while since we had anyone new in town, and I got carried away in a panic.”

“Why don’t you go on a walk?” Maru suggested. “It’s just noon, and the clinic won’t close for a few hours. I’ll stay behind and if anyone comes in for an emergency, I’ll call you on your cell.”

“That does sound good, I could use some fresh air. Thanks Maru.”

“You’re welcome!” said Maru as Harvey walked out the door. After a moment of silence, Maru’s soft smile grew into a smug grin as she pulled a portable gaming device out of her pocket. “Now, where was I in ‘Steel Riders’?”

***

Harvey took a deep breath of the warm, clean, spring air and exhaled with relief. Spring might be his favorite season. Winter always made him moody, summer was too humid, and fall always brought creepy fantastical imagery of monsters that he did not appreciate. Spring, however, was different. Everyone in the town’s moods were improving, the sun shined more regular, the days were getting longer, and everything felt new. Harvey didn’t want to walk too much and break a sweat in his work clothes, so he decided to head to his quiet spot. When the world around him got too intense, when he needed to slow down and quiet his anxious thoughts, the shadow under the large oak by the southern river bridge was just enough away from people to clear his head. However, as he got closer to the spot, someone had already took it. They were small, aesthetically pastoral looking in their large straw hat, overalls, and short, muddy boots. They were folded into themselves, with a bamboo pole attached to a string in the water. A long, brunette braid went down their back, with highlights of blond, and lowlights of auburn. No one in town that he knew had that hair. He quietly walked up.

“Excuse me but who are you-“

The person, startled out of their deep focus, jumped out of their spot and whirled around losing their balance and started tumbling backward. “Shit!” They yelped and flopped into the river with an embarrassing ‘smack!’

“Oh, shit!!” hissed Harvey, panicking. He ran up to the water’s edge, trying to not hyperventilate out of humiliation. _“Oh, Yoba please be all right, I can’t do this today”_ , he pleaded in his mind. He really couldn’t handle the panic. The young woman struggled to stand up, swearing quietly to themselves, soaked to the bone, and gave Harvey a stare that made Harvey feel very small and scared, like a mouse facing a tiger.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that, man! I get too focused sometimes and don’t hear things”. The woman waded to the water’s edge and pulled herself out, wincing in the process. Harvey looked at the fish hook stuck in her shoulder.

“I’m, I’m so sorry…I really didn’t mean to scare you. Oh man, you have a fish hook in your shoulder.”

The woman looked at her left shoulder. “Oh yeah, I do. I’ll have to pull it out.”

“Wait, let me do it. I’m actually the doctor in town. I’m uh, Doctor Harvey Schmidt by the way.”

The woman held her shoulder away from Harvey. “I got it Doc, it’s fine. I’m pretty tough and can get it out on my own. Name’s Navy, I’m new in town.”

 _“Great first impression, Harvey, doctor of the year.”_ Harvey thought to himself, looking sheepish as Navy gently pulled the hook out of her shoulder.

“See? No blood even. I got pretty thick skin.” Navy said with a smile, waving the fish hook in front of Harvey’s face. “I got this bamboo pole a couple days ago as a hand-me-down from Willy, the fisherman on the dock. Neat, right? I figured maybe I could catch a few to feed myself. This isn’t the first time I snagged myself, by the way.”

“Well, I’m still worried about infection. And since you’re new in town, I’d like to offer a new resident annual to you. I was going to send you a letter, but I guess I can just tell you now.”

“I’ll think about it, doc. Got stuff to save up for, ya know?”

Harvey looked at this new resident in front of him. She did not look optimal. Dark circles underneath her eyes stood out on her tanned skin. Her grey eyes somehow seemed stormy by nature, no glints of silver to indicate good health. She was riddled with old scrapes on her sinewy forearms, possibly too old to be from being here, though. Even though she was a head and a half shorter than he was, she felt taller, more intimidating, than she probably was in reality. She needed something medical.

“First checkup is free.” Harvey said, trying to give a reassuring smile. He was having a harder time than usual keeping eye contact; those eyes were intense.

Navy pursed her lips, as if she were computing data in her own head. “I have some time in two weeks, two Wednesdays from now. Is that cool? I’ll take the earliest slot.”

“Uh, yeah! That’s great. 10am?” Harvey was surprised how easy it was.

“Perfect. I’ll see you then, doc.”

“Can you at least buy some antibiotic ointment from the clinic? Just put me at ease over my mistake with the fishhook.”

Navy gave an empty smile “Got some already, and it’s not your fault, doc. Thanks though. See you later.” She tidied up her fishing pole and walked slowly home.

***

Harvey watched Navy slowly walk out of his sight and hit his back along the trunk of the large oak, and slid down, taking a minute to regulate his breath. When he panics, the days of his residency years flash before his eyes. Before the worst day of his career happened. Harvey ran his fingers through his thick, curly, mess he called hair while staring at the river. _“That was embarrassing.”_ He thought.

And yet, he was looking forward to two weeks from now.


	5. What Are You Doing Out So Late?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey is suffering from insomnia, so he decides to hang out at the fountain at midnight. Too bad he's a scaredy cat.

Harvey laid awake, staring at his pitch-black ceiling in bed, with the only light being from his glaring alarm clock reading 11:45pm. It was one of those nights, he knew it. Could have been from too much coffee, not enough movement, or simply his body refused: he wasn’t going to sleep before midnight. If he didn’t do something about it, it would be this pattern for the next week until he was forced to sleep from naturally passing out. Sitting up and looking out the window, it was a bright, full moon. The dark made him nervous, but he had to do something: slipping on a pair of comfy trousers, a pair of boat shoes, and a hoodie, he headed down his stairs and out the door of the clinic.

Outside at night on the town square felt like the opposite side of a coin, familiar, but nothing like its daylight counterpart. Harvey did not believe in magic, but perhaps if he were a little more naïve, the valley at night would be convincing enough. The cobblestone roads, once idyllic and soft, now felt unknowing and harsh under his feet. The unimpressive cottages during the day now loomed like monsters in the dark. The calming waters of the river, now beckon souls to be drowned in. Harvey’s heart quickened and thudded in his chest as his naturally bad eyesight tried to adjust in the darkness, as it enveloped him. Controlling his breathing, in for four seconds, out for four seconds, Harvey took pace to the northern fountain.

***

The majesty of the fountain glistened and shimmered with the enhanced moonglow upon its trickling waters, soothing worried souls of the night with its silver safety. Harvey breathed a sigh of relief reaching the fountain and sank onto the bench, as if any possible monsters in the dark were now unable to get to him in the imaginary forcefield of safety this fountain provided. The night sure was beautiful. Harvey looked up at the moon and stars, admiring the sky. His eyelids were beginning to sink a bit. Just a few more minutes out here, and Harvey would be able to sleep tonight. No nightmares, no odd bodily panic attacks, just a pause from consciousness until tomorrow’s duties were upon him with the sunrise.

A then a click is heard behind him.

Harvey’s blood runs ice cold and his spine stiffens as adrenal fear surges all at once. His immediate reaction is to hide by laying across the bench, huddled and shuddering in fear. _“It’s all in your head, Harvey. There is nothing out here that could logically hurt you”._ He thought, trembling. Maybe if he peeked his head out just a tiny bit….

There was a small, glowing light from the dilapidated community center, and a shadowy figure slowly moving in the dark, moving towards him. Harvey could barely breathe. Laying down, body shaking with all of it’s might, Harvey’s body neither fights nor flies, just waits for death.

“Doc, is that you? What are you doing up so late?”

Harvey screams and jumps from his hiding place, only to face not a monster, but Navy. Her ring details a soft glow around her body and face to suggest an outline of her person, like a phantom with a lantern, beckoning the dead to leave the world behind. She looked the part too, dressed in all black with a hood covering her head.

“Jeez Navy, you scared me! I should be asking you the same thing! What on Earth are you doing in the community center? That thing has been shut down for years, it has to be dangerous by this point!”

Navy looks at the bench where Harvey hid behind. “Mind if I sit down? I’m kinda tired, I’ll explain why.” Sitting down, she pats the other empty half to invite the nerve wracked practitioner. Harvey looks at her, and reluctantly sits down, as if she were going to pull a prank. “So you want to know why I was in the Community Center? Promise you’ll keep it to yourself? I’m gonna sound very stupid, so I need you to not talk about it.”

“I’m a doctor,” Harvey replied, “Confidentiality comes with the trade.” Navy smirked.

“I’m fixing the Community Center.”

“By yourself?” Harvey asked. Navy nodded.

“About a week ago, Lewis was there as I walked by, and he showed me the inside and lamented about the good old days. I’m not one to fix the past, but then he mentioned Joja wanted to use it as a distribution warehouse. I hate their guts, so I’m personally seeing its revamp. I wasn’t sure where to start, but I got a little help.” Navy took a pause to take a deep breath, as if readying a cannonball of a question. “Harvey, do you believe in magic, or the supernatural?”

Harvey gave her a look as if she grew an extra head. “Sorry, but no. As a man of medicine, I prefer to study was is applicably available to me in a tangible form.”

Navy shrugged. “That’s fine, just consider this anecdotal. I promise I’m not seeing things. I’m other things, just not hallucinating what’s not there. I came across these small, apple-like faeries, and they pointed to me a spot in the floorboards where I found a golden plaque of strange symbols. I couldn’t find anything in the library like it! I tried to show Lewis, but he couldn’t see the plaque despite it being right in front of us. I got a letter in the mail a few days later. Did you know a wizard lives in the stone tower to the west?”

“Navy, how much sleep do you get?”

“I get enough, doc. Anyway, he explains how he’s been watching the valley for a while, and claims that the faeries are called the Junimo, and only appear to those they want help from. He gave me a potion to drink and – “  
“Navy! Call me old fashioned, but you really shouldn’t accept random drinks from people you don’t know!”

“Probably doc, stop interrupting. Well, now I can read the plaque! It’s a list of items they want around the valley and the mines. Luckily the mines loosened from that earthquake a while ago, so I went to it. Some dude named Marlon gave me a sword.” Navy points to her back. Sure enough, there is a sheath for a small, short sword, if it were any shorter it would be a glorified dagger. Harvey is dumbfounded by not only the story, but this young woman’s recklessness.

“The mines are dangerous. I heard there’s monsters down there. As for the community center, that is a LOT of work and construction. Maybe you should talk to Robin about getting some help.”

“Sorry doc, but Robin can’t help. Since they don’t appear to her, they won’t help with caring for the community center. As for the mines, don’t underestimate me. I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Okay, just…if you’re pulled out of those mine shafts unconscious and into my clinic, you’re being slapped with a hefty fee, all right?”

Navy grinned. “Deal.” She stood up, “It’s time for bed, I’m headed back to the farm, take care of yourself, doc.”

“Wait, let me go with you at least. It’s only proper.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve figured this out by now, but I’m not one for formalities, doc. How about this, I walk to the clinic with you and split off to my road from there?”

Harvey stood up and came to her side.

***  
The walk from the fountain to the clinic was quiet, almost unnerving for its silence. However, Harvey didn’t feel unwelcomed, just a bit of an inconvenience. At the door of the clinic, Navy gave a small wave and headed down the western trail to Riverbrook Farm. Harvey opened the door and headed up the stairs, it was now 1:00AM. Changing back into pajamas, his eyes closed nearly as quickly as his head hit the pillow with one last sigh of relief before drifting into slumber.

***  
Navy silently trudged down the dirt road back to the farm. She always loved the darkness, the way it envelopes her and camouflages her figure into anonymity. She could travel through the trees silently without being noticed, or sprint to her hearts content without curious eyes. Now even being out here without neighbors for at least half a mile in radius, she was truly isolated. It was…peaceful. Navy paused right before opening the tiny house’s door. Looking up one last time at the full moon, her mind wandered to the past. Roy should be here.

Navy opened the door and crashed onto the bed. She wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.


	6. Diary Entry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you're as old as the Wizard, it helps to write down your days to remind yourself of your daily actions. He's taken quite a shining to Navy.

_Year 137, 1st Moon, 2nd Day:_

_I, M. Rasmodius, write this entry for the above date:_

_Upon the new moon to bring in the year, the other beings of the arcane and myself performed our yearly ritual for seeing a glimpse into the future. And lo, the following visions were brought upon my conscious:_

_I floated down through a murky abyss: vast, deep, inky. Finally, my feet touched a surface, which felt of soft earth, but looking downward showed no surface I felt my feet upon. In front of me was the headstone of a grave, ensnared in dark, bleeding brambles and thorns, of thistles and sprouts of yew and willow. The ground shuddered beneath me and caused the headstone to break. Within the cracks bled through a dim, golden light. The light reminded one of a small match in a dark cave and revealed within the headstone a green sprout of dandelion. The dandelion’s sprout was small and meager in representation, but its roots were so intertwined with the ground around it, the headstone and ground around it remained unfettered by the earthquake that effected the earth surrounding it._

_As all visions are meant to remain ambiguous, as to not be tempted by the fates to alter the future by our own hands, I have a hunch. Lately, dandelion has been sprouting a lot more heavily this spring than usual, and a major change is coming to the valley. Apparently, someone has bought the aging farm. Perhaps they will bring some of the elder spirit life that has been a part of its soil and waters…._

_***  
Year 137, 1st Moon, 5th Day:_

_I, M. Rasmodius, write this entry for the above date:_

_I have introduced myself to the newest soul to Pelican Town and Stardew Valley. She is already interconnected with the souls and arcane spirit of the area. Turns out the old farmer, Agnus, was her grandfather. While he has never been able to see the aetheric entities of the woods and ocean, he was a gentle spirit, and nurtured the earth around him. It was an enjoyment watching him grow and age, but like all life, we all must move on sooner or later. However, his granddaughter…if his aura was full of golds and greens, hers is slate gray. Gray as the dull whites of her eyes. Her aura blends in however, lately many auras in the area are greys, beiges, tans…dull and lifeless as the unresolved business within their lives._

_I...may have bent some of my vows to astral project to keep an eye on her. Drawn to the community center, she can see beings of the aether. The Junimo have decided to make their presence known to her. I have decided to aid her. I invited her to my abode. For someone so dull and bitter, she can certainly act chirpy. Quite scrappy in stature too. I took an instinctive move and may have added extra dandelion to the mixture. One swig was as if that woman for the first time in her life looked at peace. To be fair, the potion has some…intoxicating effects. She is now able to see and speak to all creatures within the forest._

_I cannot wait to see what she is capable of._


End file.
